By Jake Donovan
Controversy has swirled at every turn - from the purse bid canceled at the 11th hour, to a delay due to injury, down to fight week craziness highlighted by disputes over gloves and even ring surface.
Through it all, we finally have a fight as Wladimir Klitschko collides with Tyson Fury in a battle of massive-sized heavyweights Saturday evening at ESPRIT Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Klitschko (64-3, 53KOs) attempts the 19th consecutive defense of a title reign that extends back to his repeat win over Chris Byrd in April '06. It seems like a career ago since he was forced to overcome knockout losses to Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster.
The 2nd round knockout loss to Sanders ended his first title reign in March '03, while the fatigue-induced stoppage loss at the heavy hands of Brewster in April '04 delayed his run towards a second title by two years.
Once he clicked with the late Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward, the ship eventually righted its course with Klitschko never looking back. Even as he approaches his 40th birthday, the hulking Ukrainian heavyweight king has dominated the division dating back to his stoppage win over Byrd in April '06.
An eye-popping 18 title defenses have followed, including a 12-round win over Bryant Jennings in his most recent ring appearance this past April. In Fury, he faces his 6th unbeaten heavyweight challenger in the span of seven fights.
The occasion also marks just the second time he gives away height, reach and age - the former two a rare occurrence for the 6'6" Klitschko.
Standing nose-to-nose during fight week, Fury (24-0, 18KOs) doesn't appear to be quite at his listed height of 6'9", but does enjoy a natural size advantage over the long-reigning heavyweight ruler.
It could prove to be his only advantage, as the outspoken traveler from England enters his first world title fight. He arrived at this point with a career-best performance in a 10th round stoppage over Dereck Chisora in their rematch last November.
Just one fight has followed - an 8th round stoppage of Christian Hammer this past February, in a fight intended to mark time for what he hoped would be a summer showdown with Klitschko.
Instead, the fight headed to a purse bid as the two sides failed to come to terms. Perhaps spooked by the presence of other promoters - including Russia's Vlad Hryunov - with the financial resourses to gain promotional control of such an event, a deal was struck just as the already delayed purse bid was set to begin.
With that came an announced date of October 24, only for the fight to be pushed back five weeks after Klitschko suffered inflammatory discomfort in his knee during training camp.
From there came concern voiced by Team Fury over the gloves to be used for the fight, as well as the spongy ring surface that K2 Promotions attempted to have used for Saturday's event.
All issues have since been resolved, with nothing left but the championship contest itself. Who will prevail in the battle of heavyweight giants?
Read on to see how the staff at BoxingScene.com believes the action will play out.
BOXINGSCENE.COM STAFF PREDICTIONS: WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO vs. TYSON FURY
Miguel Assuncao (Klitschko KO7): It's an intriguing match-up. Fury will be one of Klitschko's most ambitious modern opponents, making use of his greater reach and switch hitting to ask questions of the champion. However, despite Fury's likely early aggression, I feel once Klitschko finds his range the Brit's gung-ho approach will leave him open to a stoppage in the mid rounds.
Matt Bevan (Klitschko KO8): I can't see it being anything other than a Klitschko victory inside eight rounds. I like Fury, both as a fighter and a character, but Klitschko doesn't take risks very often and I don't think he considers Tyson a risk. It won't be a barn-burner, it probably won't even be exciting in any way, despite Fury's claims, and I can see Wladimir settling in nicely and doing what he always does, win. I have doubts about Fury's chin, he was knocked down by Steve Cunningham after all, which Klitschko will certainly test. I'd love to be wrong, but I think Wladimir will knock out Tyson Fury in the eighth round to retain his belts once again.
Shaun Brown (Klitschko Dec): Tyson Fury is going to have to box the champion's head off, avoid getting in close, not get frustrated and stand up to Wlad's right hands to have any chance of winning. The champion will do nothing different but may be forced into becoming more offensive, especially if Fury boxes to orders from his trainer. I can see Fury gaining plaudits, having to get up off the floor but dropping a split decision loss.
Ryan Burton (Klitschko KO9): I expect a wild fight and I think Fury will have moments of real success which will force Klitschko to dig deep. Ultimately the bravado of Fury will get the best of him and he will make a mistake which will result in him getting clipped in the second half of the fight.
Jake Donovan (Fury KO5): After going 0-4 last week, I expect to be dead wrong once again with this pick. Still, I can't help but feel like we are in for a major shocker this weekend. Fury has controlled the mind games heading into fight night, and Klitschko is at least beginning to look his age in profile if not yet in the ring. I can see the 6'9" Fury losing every round before landing a home run shot to send shockwaves through Klitschko's 6'6" frame and throughout the boxing world, even if only to set up an inevitable rematch in the 1st quarter of 2016.
Stephen "Breadman" Edwards (Klitschko KO): Wlad remains king, but gets a controversial stoppage to retain his title.
Elliot Foster (Fury Dec.): It’s a tough one to call. I’d love to see Tyson Fury win the world title, purely because he’s a Brit, but the Ukrainian supremo has been there, done that and has 67 t-shirts. But I think Fury has more than enough to trouble Klitschko and see him winning on points in a cagey, technical showdown.
Michael Gibbons (Fury TKO5): This has the feeling of a changing of the guard. This fight comes down to if Fury will take the necessary chances to win this fight? I happen to think he does and is able to score a dramatic stoppage.
Chris Glover (Klitschko UD): This contest is more interesting than what people give it credit for in my opinion. Tyson Fury can box with the best, he has not gone one style, he can fight when he needs to fight and be a slickster when he needs to be slick. This is why I find this contest compelling, it's hard to have a game plan for Fury. Wladimir on the other hand is not hard to predict, we know what he's going to do, we've seen it all before. So will Wladimir's best be too much for Fury? Maybe not in my opinion. I think Fury will trouble Wladimir a lot. Klitschko will not have boxed many switch hitters in his time and that is a skill Fury utilises effectively. I do imagine Wlad has planned for that as well as Fury's shot variety. However, I see it being one of the hardest nights Klitschko will have in a long time.
Ben Jacobs (Klitschko KO8): There are few fights in the heavyweight division more appealing than this one and, thankfully it is finally upon us. Fury has made huge strides since he came onto the scene. Who would have thought after his first bout with John McDermott that he would now be in a position to become the heavyweight champion of the world. Although Fury can give Klitschko problems that he hasn’t encountered recently, such as an ability to switch to southpaw coupled with his height and reach, I believe his own desire to knock the Ukrainian out may be his downfall. Not as defensively gifted as Bryant Jennings, I see Fury being caught with a big shot from Wladimir which he won’t be able to recover from around the eighth of an enthralling contest.
Peter Lim (Klitschko KO5): Klitschko's reign is nearing its end, but it will not be Fury who ends it. Short of catching the champion napping, Fury is simply too lumbering, immobile and inexperienced to infiltrate Klitschko's educated defense and deliver an upset. Experience prevails over youth in this bout. In typical Klitschko fashion, the Ukrainian stabs the Irishman all night with thudding jabs before stopping him with a perfectly-timed one-two in the fifth round.
George Ogier (Klitschko TKO): I’ve heard from people I respect that Tyson Fury is technically a superior boxer to Wladimir but I’m not convinced. Fury often looks sloppy and uncoordinated leaving himself open to getting hit far too often. If Steve Cunningham can put Tyson over then I see no reason why a bigger, stronger, sharper Klitschko can’t do the same again, and again, and again. People point to Wladimir’s KO defeats in the past but that’s a bit like looking at the Solskjaer/Sheringham Manchester United side and using it as evidence that United will win the Champions League this season. Wlad is a totally different fighter now, he hasn’t been rattled by anyone recently and that includes a roster of fighters far more accomplished than Fury. Tyson Fury may well win a world title one day but it won’t be this weekend.
Takahiro Onaga (Klitschko KO8): A huge step up for Fury sees him come up short against the best Heavyweight out there. Fury will maybe have success early but a right hand will destroy his dreams.
Cliff Rold (Klitschko KO): I like Fury as a live underdog, but that's only in the sense that he makes this a fight. Klitschko is smarter, better technically, more athletic, and hits harder. Maybe age catches up but until he loses again, or Anthony Joshua looks ready, hard to pick against the champ.
Victor Salazar (Fury KO): Everything should be in the favor of Wladimir Klitscko. The power, the technique, and the experience favor the heavyweight champion of the world. But i just have a feeling father time catches up to the reigning champ of the world and ushers in the Fury era.
Alexey Sukachev (Klitschko KO7): I bet that one will be fun yet relativelyshort. Fury is as flawed as any oversized heavyweight (and there are some - believe it or not), has tons of problems with his defense and doesn't pack a really serious punch for an equalizer. However, his physique and presence will make up for several scary moments for the champ in the early going... Then he will take control and blow the Brit out. As he should.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
